Carpet-renovator.



UNITED STATES JOHN S. THURMAN, OF STPLOUIS, MISSOURI.

, CARPET-RENOVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 663,943, dated December1900.

Application filed December 18, 1899. Serial No. 740,735. (No model.)

To It whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, JOHN S. THURMAN, acitizen of the United States,residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, haveinvented acertain new and usefullmprovement in Carpet-Renovators, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such aswill enable others skilledin the art to which it 'appertains to make anduse the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forunngpart of this specification, in

which Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view through my improvedcarpet-renovator. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same online m m, Fig. 1, and in which the right-hand side shows thedeflector-plates and the lefthand side of the same view shows thedeflector-plates removed. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the renovator.Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view, a portion of the cap being brokenaway; and Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the device with the capbroken away.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement incarpet-renovators, the object being to construct a device of thecharacter described in a simple and cheap manner, whereby carpets may bethoroughly renovated and cleaned with compressed air without removalfrom the floor. V

In addition to cleaning carpets without removal from the floor anotherobject of my invention is to provide means whereby the carpets may beeffectively fumigated or disinfected by providing asuitable cup fromwhich the disinfectant is drawn into the air-supply, which thoroughlyatomizes it and blows the same under pressure into the carpet, thusdestroying disease and other germs.

In operation the box-shaped device, whose novel construction forms thebasis of this presplates, forming a tortuous passage, and then through aseries of screens, which tend to re lieve the air of dust, which islighter than the air, the clarified air finally escaping through the topof the collector in practically a purified state into the room.

The supply of air for the device illustrated in the drawings may bestored in tubes rolled of a solid billet of steel in the shape of abottle, into which is pumped air under a high pressure of from two tofour thousand pounds per square inch, said tubes or bottles being filledat a central plant and unloaded at the residence where the carpets areto be cleaned. On the neck of the bottle may be attached areducing-valve to reduce the high-pressure air in the bottle to abouteighty pounds per square inch. On the reducing-valve may be attached theair-hose, which is carried into the house, and on the end of the hose isat. tached the dust-collector. The bottle of air at the high pressurestated has suflicient quantity stored to accomplish the result desired,or compressed air may be supplied from a portable air-compressor, sothat by connecting a flexible hose to the reservoir of said compressorthe renova'tor may be operated in a dwelling or other house convenientlywithout further disturbing the compressor.

I have found from observation of a machine with which I have conductedexperiments that the renovator relieves and collects nearly all, if notall, of the dust and dirt from the carpet over which it has traveled.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationof the several parts, all as will hereinafter be described and afterwardpointed out in the claims. I

In the drawings, A represents the side walls of the casing, which arepreferably parallel to each other and connected by the end walls 13 andC. The end wall 0, which is at the rear end of the casing, extendsdownward to the blast-nozzle D, then inwardly at an angle, forming apart of said nozzle, and connects with the inner Wall E, which forms theinner chamber. The blastnozzle D is arranged at an angle and receives inits rear end pipe E, on the end of which is attached asuitable handleand valve through which compressed air is conducted to the nozzle. Themouth of the blast-nozzle D is contracted, as shown at (1, said mouthbeing continuous and extending practically the width of the casing. Thewidth of the opening of the mouth of the nozzle is made adjustable bymeans of a plate P, having screws 19 in wall B, passing through slots insaid plate P. i

The handle end of the pipe E carries thecontrolling-valve,(notshown,)which is within convenient reach of theoperator, so that the operator can control the strength of the blast ofair projected through the nozzle D.

To the rear end of the operating-handle is connected a flexible hosewhich leads from any suitable source of compressed-airsu pply.

It is preferable to make the nozzle D, with its runners at and base I b,and e, of a solid piece, preferably a casting, (designated as D.)'

I prefer to flatten the flange b, b, and eof casting D, so as toincrease the area of the bearing-surface of thiscasting atits point ofcontact with the carpet to make as tight contact at this point aspossible. The runners d on the rear end of the casting D prevent therenovator from tipping rearwardly when being operated. The balance ofthe machine is preferably made of sheet metal.

I The front end wall, before referred to, is curved rearwardly orinwardly at its lower end and is there attached to the frame or castingD. At this point it receives the dustladen air against its inner face,directing said air as indicated by the arrows.

B indicates an inwardly-projecting wall,

' forming, practically,a continuation of the on rwall B.

vature of thelowerend of wallB, the function of which wall B is todirect the dust-laden air inwardly into the dust-collecting chamber H.'lhe bottom wall of chamberH is formed by the plates 0 and B", theformer bending downwardly and inwardly, forming the upper wall of thenozzle D,while the latter curves upwardly and inwardly to conform to thecurvature of the lowerend of the front wall, butleaving, of course, asuitable space for the passa e of the dust-laden air. I have letteredthis space Iin the drawings. The upperend of this space is closed by aninwardly-opening flap- Valve J, which is pivoted at its upper end to Inoperation the valve J is raised in proportion to the volume of thedust-laden air entering chamber H and tends to deflect the dust-ladenair inwardly and downwardly in said chamber, as indicated by the arrows,so that the, dust-laden air is given somewhat of a whirling motion,whereby the particles of dust in the air are thrown downwardly bycentrifugal action and deposited in the bottom of the chamber. Theskiinmers h pre vent the dust from whirling, and the air is retarded byexpansion while whirling in this the exit-opening.

M and M are screens or slides arranged one above the other in such amanner that the partially-purified air will pass through said screensand through the said opening L. These slides or screens are made ofmetal, preferably rectangular in shape,with an opening in the center,over which is attached a very fine netting M. l A piece of cotton orwoolen cloth is also preferably used over the openings and inconjunction with thescreens, so that the air in passing through thesescreens is relieved of that dust which is lighter than the air and whichis inclinedto escape through One of the side walls of the casing isformed with suitable slots, through which one end of the screens passes,(see Figs. 2, 4, and 5,) the projecting ends of the screens affording ahandheld by which they may be grasped and removed for cleaning purposes.Cleats are arranged on the back wall 0 and on the partition-wall L forholding the screens in place in the machine.

K indicates an inverted-Y-shaped deflector secured to the partition Land extending downwardly at right angles to said partition. The membersof this deflector I have marked 7t and K, and they preferably extend thefull width of the chamber H.

The top of the renovator is made of a piece of sheet metal 0, in whichis secured'the tube 0, one-half of the tube extending inside of therenovator and one-half outside of the renovator, and on the top of thistube is a removable cap 0''. The upper end of the tube is covered bya'thin wire-netting 0', by which the air is finally relieved of thedust.

When the dust-laden air passes through the valve J and enters thechamber H, it is compelled to make a short turn under the member K ofthe inverted-Y-shaped deflector, then upwardly over a skimmer h,arranged between the members of the inverted-Y- shaped deflector, thendownwardly and underneath the member In of the deflector K, and thenupwardly and between another skimmer h. In making these short turns thedust is deposited under or against the skimmers and the purified orpartially-purified air then goes upward and is finally screened andrelieved of all its dust by the screen-slides M and Mand the cap-screen0, the air then escaping into the room.

.In operation, assuming that the pipeE is properly-connected to acontrollingvalve which is connected to a flexible hose which leads to asource of compressed-air supply, the device is placed in position on thecarpet and the said valve opened, which causes a blast of air to enterthe pipe E, which is ejected from the mouth at of nozzle D at an angleonto the carpet or down into and through the carpet, which air dislodgesthe dust and carries it upwardly through space I beyond the valve J andinto the chamber H, where the air is relieved of its greatest portion ofdust, after which the air is forced to travel the tortuous passageresulting from the arrangement of the deflector-plate K and shimmers h.In passing through the cloth and wire screens inthe slides M and M theair is relieved entirely of the dust and the purified air finallyescapes through the screened orifice 0 in the removable cap on top ofthe renovator.

In order to remove the collected dirt and dust in the chamber H, I cutin one end of the side wall A an opening which is covered by a door P,which is slidable in the slides Q, as indicated in Fig. 5. To remove thedust, the door is slid out and the box turned on its end, which relievesthe box of the collected dirt and dust.

In Fig. 5, G indicates a metallic cup which is screwed into the pipe Eat an angle and sets vertically to the carpet. This cup is filled withformaldahyde or other disinfectant, and screw 9 is then adjusted, whichregulates the flow of the disinfectant into the pipe E. The disinfectantis atomized by means of the blast of air passing from said pipe and isfinally blown into the carpet, which thoroughly disinfects the same.This device is only to be used after the carpets are relieved of thedust. A pipe g, leading from pipe E to the space above the liquid inreceptacle G, may be employed for overcoming back pressure at theoutlet-opening, and a valve g" is preferably introduced in pipe g forwell known purposes.

The renovator in practice is moved back and forth over the carpet to berenovated in substantially the same manner as one would employ acarpet-sweeper.

While I have described my invention with relation to the renovation andfumigation of carpets, which can be accomplished easily withoutnecessitating the removal of the carpets from their floors, still it isobvious that there are other articles that can be renovated andfumigated equally well, such as bedclothes, Wearing-apparel, &c. Theonly feature to be observed in the renovation and fumigation of theseother articles is the provision of suitable imperforate supports for thearticles; otherwise the dust will be blown through and not collected inits proper receptacle.

I am aware that many minor changes in the construction, arrangement, andcombination of the several parts of my improved renova tor may be madeand substituted for those herein shown and described without in theleast departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, wha I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patcut, is-- 1. In a renovator, the combination with a suitablecasing open at its bottom, the walls of said casing extending down toengage the article to be cleaned or renovated, so that said articlepractically forms the bottom of the casing, of a nozzle carried by saidcasing and arranged to one side of said opening for discharging airunder pressure at an angle and in a definite direction through thebottom of the casing, a passage for the dustladen air leading up fromthe opening in the bottom of the casing from a point. opposite thenozzle and tangentially into a chamber in said casing, a pressure-supplypipe connected to said nozzle, and shimmers arranged in said chamber,substantially as described.

2. In a renovator, the combination with a suitable casing, of a nozzlecarried thereby and discharging air under pressure at an angle throughthe bottom of said casing, a supply-pipe connected to said nozzle, wallsforming a space through which the dust-laden air is conducted to achamber within said casing, a flap-valve acting as a deflector for theair as it enters the chamber, shimmers in said chamber, and deflectorsin juxtaposition to some of said shimmers, forming a tortuous passagefor the escape of the air from said chamber, substantially as described.

3. In a renovator, the combination with a casing and nozzle, of apassage for the dustladen air arranged in said casing and leading into achamber, shimmers arranged in said chamber, vertically-arrangeddeflector-plates arranged in advance of the outlet-opening from saidchamber, and screens over said outlet-opening, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination with a casting formed with runners having rearwardextensions d, said casting being also shaped as to form one wall of anozzle, of a sheet-metal casing arranged on said casting and having aninclined portion forming the other wall of said nozzle, said sheet-metalcasing also forming a chamber for receiving the dust-laden air, and asupply-pipe connected to said nozzle; substantially as described.

5. The combination with a casing provided with a chamber for receivingthe dust-laden air and a passage leading from the bottom of said easinginto said chamber, of a nozzle arranged opposite said passage, and aplate forming one wall of the mouth of said nozzle, said plate beingslotted transversely for the passage of screw-bolts, whereby said plateis capable of adjustment to enlarge or contract the mouth of the nozzle,substantially as described.

6. The combination with a casting formed with runners andbearing-surfaces, said casting, also, having a threaded opening affording a pipe connection, of a casing mounted on said casting and havingone wall arranged to form a nozzle in conjunction with said casting, apassage for the dust-laden air leading from the mouth of said nozzle andinto a chamber in the casing, and shimmers in said chamber,substantially as described.

7. The combination with a casing, of a nozzle, a passage for thedust-laden air leading from the mouth of said nozzle into a chamber inthe casing, shimmers arranged transversely the walls of said chamber,and an inverted- Y-shaped deflector cooperating with some of saidskimmers to form a tortuous passage for the escape of air from saidchamber, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a casing provided with a partition-Wall dividingthe same into two compartments, into the lower of which d ust-laden airis tangentially admitted under pressure, of a communicating openingbetween said two compartments, skimmers ar' ranged in the lowercompartment for collectin g the heavier particles of dust, and slidablescreens arranged on each side of said communicatingopeningfor collectingthe lighter particles of dust, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a casing, of a nozzle, a passage for thedust-laden air leading from the mouth of said nozzle and dischargingsaid dust-laden air tangentially into a chamber within the casing,skimmers in said chamber, and removable slide-screens M and M arrangedabove and below the outlet-opening from said chamber, substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination with a casing having a partition-wall dividing thesame into two compartments, of a nozzle arranged in the lower portion ofthe casing, a passage for the dust-laden air leadingfrom the mouth ofsaid nozzle and discharging the dust-laden air tangentially into achamber formed by said lower compartment, screens arranged onreach sideof an opening which establishes communica t-ion between said twocompartments, and an escape-opening leading from the upper compartmentand covered by a screen, substantially as described.

11. In a renovator, the combination with a casing and nozzle, of a pipefor supplying compressed air to said nozzle, a passage for thedust-laden air arranged in said casing and leading into a chamber,skimmers arranged in said chamber for collecting the heavier particlesof dust, screens over the outlet-opening from said chamber forcollecting the lightel particles of dust, and a liquid-containingreceptacle for admitting liquid into said supply-pipe tomoistenoriinpregnate the air passing through the nozzle; substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my

